Damp concrete floors in Victorian stone terrace

[Metadreamer]

Hi there
I viewed a stone end terrace house built before 1900 and it has partly suspended wood floors and partly concrete floors on the ground floor.

The concrete floor is clearly damp in places and in one room at the front corner of the house it is very damp and an attempt to scree over appears to have failed. Is chipping and crumbling and cracking. There is a wierd hole like a tube has been put through it too in one corner. Not sure what that is.

it is not wet to touch or anything but is full of dark patches of varying darkness.

there are obvious gutter issues with water flowing down the front of the external wall to this room when I went back to look in heavy rain. Minor leaking in other places too.
Could gutter problems be the cause of damp floors throughout?
I will have to get an engineer in if I decide I’m serious for sure - but is this sort of thing almost always a serious foundation problem does anyone know or can fixing a gutter or unblocking a drain sometimes sort the whole thing out?
If it’s almost certain that it’s a money pit I’d rather not shell out in a structural engineers report. If it’s not necessarily a major major issue then I would pay to find out.

Any perspectives greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[koolpc]

Its asking a lot to get some solid feedback on her without more info and pics etc.

 

[Metadreamer]

Ah ok what other I do you need please?

it says my files are too large so no on a figure how to reduce and upload em as I have quite a few actually
Thanks

 

[Metadreamer]

Ok I’ve uploaded some pics including one with the pipe coming up out of the floor in the worst room that has the crumbling screed stuff

Thanks

 

[Jord86]

It’s a money pit. You need a proper Building Surveyor, not an engineer, though based on what the surveyors report says, you still may need an engineer later on.

 

[Metadreamer]

It’s a money pit. You need a proper Building Surveyor, not an engineer, though based on what the surveyors report says, you still may need an engineer later on.

ah thanks for being so Frank. I guess I was thinking surveyors are superficial and structural engineers get more detailed and can look for the cause, but I’m not sure what I am basing that on.
Thanks very much

 

[FUNDIMOLD]

Photos of the outside are generally more revealing as that is where the problem usually originates (notwithstanding internal leaking pipes). Typical causes include leaking gutters, cracks in external render (often hairline). Raised garden hardstanding that obscures air bricks, blocked air bricks under floorboards, high water table, historical flood, external drain leak etc. The list is endless. Unless the place is a bargain you could be in for years of doubt about the remedial work carried out - sometimes a fix works for six months and then the problem returns. Managing damp in an older property is a fact of life and can even be an acceptable compromise but to get it to that stage takes £££'s. There are lots of snake oil salesman out there (even independent qualified surveyors) so be wary of anyone who wants to cover it up with membranes and chemicals before tackling the cause.

 

[Jord86]

ah thanks for being so Frank. I guess I was thinking surveyors are superficial and structural engineers get more detailed and can look for the cause, but I’m not sure what I am basing that on.
Thanks very much

The rest of the rooms may be palatial but I’ve seen and been in enough houses that have the same state your photos showed to know that they are an expensive can of worms that keep growing arms and legs.

 

[Metadreamer]

Ah thanks for your reply. Yes the gutters are clearly knackered. I would know how to spot hairline cracks necessarily but it is cheap and ticks a lot of boxes too so I think I am going to get an expert opinion on it.

I won’t be rushing to buy an injection damp proof course if that’s what you mean as I have read about those.

I am intrigued to find out what that pipe is sticking up through the floor in a habitable room too.

thanks very much for the input



QUOTE="FUNDIMOLD, post: 2049012, member: 218117"]Photos of the outside are generally more revealing as that is where the problem usually originates (notwithstanding internal leaking pipes). Typical causes include leaking gutters, cracks in external render (often hairline). Raised garden hardstanding that obscures air bricks, blocked air bricks under floorboards, high water table, historical flood, external drain leak etc. The list is endless. Unless the place is a bargain you could be in for years of doubt about the remedial work carried out - sometimes a fix works for six months and then the problem returns. Managing damp in an older property is a fact of life and can even be an acceptable compromise but to get it to that stage takes £££'s. There are lots of snake oil salesman out there (even independent qualified surveyors) so be wary of anyone who wants to cover it up with membranes and chemicals before tackling the cause.[/QUOTE]

 

[Metadreamer]

Thanks very much. I know you are right but am probably going to have an expert look anyway as it’s a great house otherwise. I’m probably an idiot though lol



QUOTE="Jord86, post: 2049014, member: 160764"]The rest of the rooms may be palatial but I’ve seen and been in enough houses that have the same state your photos showed to know that they are an expensive can of worms that keep growing arms and legs.[/QUOTE]

 

[FUNDIMOLD]

Search in Youtube for 'Peter Ward Damp' videos. He covers most scenarios!